"Is this the village we're looking for?"
"There's nothing particularly unusual about it."
That was Amour's response to my murmur. She was right, of course—she'd essentially voiced what I'd been feeling. Grandpa seemed to share the same impression, nodding silently without saying a word.
"Well, they only look different on the outside. Their way of life isn't all that different. Besides being called a hidden village, there's really no distinction from an ordinary village."
It was Branca who answered our question—she'd apparently visited this village many times before. Indeed, their appearance was the only thing that set them apart from other beastfolk, so there was no reason for their lifestyle to differ. If anything, their forest-centered way of living was probably closer to life in Kukuri Village.
We walked straight through the village for a while and eventually stopped in front of the most impressive building among them all.
"This is the village chief's house. Lady Hana is in there, so it should be fine... but if you cause any harm to the chief, consider every single person in this village your enemy."
Our three guides considered their duty fulfilled at that point, and with those words from the tiger-faced man, they departed from in front of the village chief's house. Once they were out of sight, I used my Detection Ability just to be safe. It revealed that they had immediately rendezvoused with their village companions and were hiding and standing by at a considerable distance. Incidentally, Hana, Branca, and Amour didn't seem to notice the hidden people at all, but Grandpa appeared to know exactly where every one of them was, casually glancing in their directions to confirm their positions.
"The village chief here is a gentle person who rarely gets angry, so as long as you behave normally, you'll be fine."
Hana noticed that Grandpa and I had gone quiet—perhaps worried about the people hiding around us—and told us about the village chief. Then, without even bothering with proper introductions, she went straight inside the house.
"Hurry up and come in. The chief is waiting for you."
We hesitated, unsure whether it was really alright to just walk in like that—Branca included—but Hana leaned halfway out through the door and beckoned us. The house had the feel of an old rural Japanese farmhouse, and the interior looked just like something you'd see on TV.
"Come on, hurry inside."
Hana went up through the entrance with the ease of someone returning to their childhood home, slid open a nearby sliding door, and disappeared inside. In the room was an elderly-looking tiger-faced beastfolk.
"Please, come right in. Don't be shy."
The tiger-faced beastfolk inside was indeed an old person—and a woman. The elderly tiger-faced woman welcomed us with a gentle voice and told us to sit across from her. According to Hana, this person was both the village chief and the elder.
I took my seat while remaining cautious of my surroundings. The only nearby presences were those of beastfolk different from our guides—they appeared to be guards, standing by close to the room—and a handful of what seemed to be women. The women's presences were gathered in the kitchen, likely family members or attendants. Indeed, shortly after we sat down, one of the women brought us tea. She looked perfectly ordinary—cat-faced though she was.
"Is this... green tea?"
What the cat-faced woman brought was completely genuine green tea, and the term "green tea" worked just fine here too. In the south, green tea had been popular since ancient times, and various methods of brewing, drinking, and cultivar improvement were apparently still actively pursued. The green tea we were served was the usual hot variety, but the elder's was thoroughly cooled—no steam rose from it.
"We're not very good with the cheek pouches, so it's hard to drink when it's hot."
The elder had picked up on my curious glance and answered the unspoken question. She also mentioned that chewing was difficult for them, which made life in a beastfolk city like Nanao quite challenging from a dietary standpoint.
"Of course, the biggest reason is that even among beastfolk, there are those who hold discriminatory attitudes."
So she said. It seemed that among beastfolk—especially the younger generation—some didn't even know that beastfolk with animal faces like the elder existed. In the past, women who gave birth to babies with animal faces were persecuted and assaulted, with claims that they'd "given birth to monsters," and in some cases the children were simply killed on the spot. People like Hana, who served as leaders in cities and villages, were aware of this, and older beastfolk who'd lived long enough were taught about it by previous generations. However, some among those older generations also harbored strong feelings of rejection. The younger generation wasn't taught about it—a long-standing custom meant to prevent confusion over what might be a species close to monsters—but apparently discussions were now underway to end that custom and inform people from a young age that beastfolk with animal faces were occasionally born.
"If we wanted people to actually see it, that would mean putting those living in places like this on display, which makes it difficult. On top of that, some people living in villages like this have experienced discrimination or even threats to their lives from those around them in the past, so their sense of camaraderie runs deep. Many would strongly object to having their companions treated like exhibits."
The situation was complicated on many levels. And even if all those obstacles were cleared and they could live among other beastfolk, there was the possibility of friction with the human kingdoms.
The biggest reason the Southern Autonomous Zone had been established in the first place was that many beastfolk had been driven out by humans in the past. Among the reasons for their expulsion was the fact that humans didn't consider beastfolk with animal ears and tails to be the same species, and subjected them to persecution. Even now, there were still humans who refused to recognize beastfolk as equals and discriminated against them—and among them were nobles and others who wielded considerable power. If such people learned about the hidden villages, they might only strengthen their discriminatory attitudes. If they allied and attacked openly, that would be one thing, but guerrilla tactics against villages or small towns would almost certainly result in total annihilation, which could escalate into outright war between the human kingdoms and the Southern Autonomous Zone.
"Even if we wanted to reform people's thinking, the fact that the south alone can't handle it is probably the biggest problem."
Hana's words were met with a nod of agreement from the elderly tiger-faced woman. Hana seemed to want to tackle the issue immediately, but the elder clearly felt it would take much more time before they could begin.
"So, why did you bring us here?"
"Hmm? We're almost done, actually. I just wanted you to know that villages like this exist, and Amour, as a member of the viscount's household, will need to bring you here eventually anyway."
"In other words, you want me and Tenma—who have influence with the royal family and powerful nobles—to serve as a buffer if the need arises, or to discreetly convey the current situation to the royal family so they can take countermeasures on their end?"
Setting Amour aside, I didn't think "I just want you to know about it" was a sufficient reason to bring us all the way here—and apparently Grandpa agreed, since he'd been silently sipping his tea until now. Judging from Hana's expression, Grandpa had hit the mark.
"...That's exactly right. I can't raise this issue myself, so I wanted it conveyed indirectly."
If the leader of the Southern Autonomous Zone leaked this sensitive matter, it would inevitably become a point of contention for various parties, which was why they'd taken this approach. As for the concern that it might become known that I'd been brought to this village—the cover story would be that my group happened to be gathering plants in the viscount's forest, happened to run into village men who were hunting, and had been reluctantly guided to the village in order to convince them to keep the secret. It was a pretty far-fetched cover story, but since there was genuinely a chance it could have been a coincidence, as long as all the people involved stuck to the same account, it could work. As for why Hana and Branca were with us—their supposed role was to monitor us so we wouldn't approach the forbidden area near the hidden village.
"For now, I just need to pass the word to the King. Well, Lady Maria will probably come asking all sorts of questions about what happened in the south, so I'll be sure to let something slip carelessly. Oh, and this tea is delicious."
"There should be some good tea leaves at home, so I'll send some with you as a gift."
"Along with some seedlings of this tea plant, if you would."
"I'll arrange it."
Hearing about Hana's request, I decided to make one of my own. Well, compared to hers, my request was probably quite cute... or rather, the compensation for running an errand for the royal family being tea and seedlings—no matter how you looked at it, the scales were terribly lopsided. Hana had been bowing her head this whole time precisely because she knew that. It was taking advantage of her weak position, but it meant I could get my hands on these tea seedlings. If things went well, I might be able to drink homegrown green tea, and even if they didn't, I could always buy tea leaves through the viscount's household.
"This isn't exactly a snack to go with the tea, but it just so happens that our tree had fruit, so please help yourself."
What the elder had someone bring out was small red fruits. Wondering how to eat them, I watched as Amour grabbed several of the red fruits and popped them straight into her mouth. Apparently, the center contained a seed that took up nearly half the fruit's size—you'd scrape away the flesh around the seed in your mouth, eat it, and spit out the remaining seed. Much the same way you'd eat a pomegranate or a chocolate vine fruit.
"These fruits are sweet and sour and irresistibly delicious, but if you eat too many, you won't be able to sleep at night, so be careful," Hana warned.
When I heard that, I thought to myself: I knew it. Because I'd seen these seeds before. I'd never seen them fresh, and not in this world at that, but the processed seeds were identical to what I'd seen in books and on TV. The true identity of these fruits was...
"Are these coffee berries?"
"You know your stuff. These are only cultivated in a small part of the south, and the fruit is small, so they don't circulate outside the region."
Hana, Branca, and the elder all looked a bit surprised and impressed. Amour had glanced my way but prioritized eating the coffee berries over showing admiration, and now that everyone's attention had shifted away from the fruit, she was stuffing her cheeks full.
"Could I also get some seedlings of this plant?"
"Hmm... I don't think that's possible."
I didn't think the harvest would be large enough to drink coffee regularly, but even a small amount would expand the range of treats I could make, so I asked. But Hana turned me down. Since it was only cultivated in a limited area, maybe coffee seedlings were precious, and I was about to give up—when I realized the situation was actually a bit different.
"No, the coffee seedlings themselves aren't particularly rare, so there's no issue with giving them away. The problem is the climate in the Royal Capital."
According to Hana, the most important condition for growing a coffee tree was a warm climate year-round. Even with a slightly colder period, it could still bear fruit, but in the Royal Capital's climate where snow fell in winter, it was uncertain whether the tree could even grow properly, let alone produce fruit. Incidentally, it wasn't uncommon for people in the Southern Autonomous Zone to have never seen snow—as far as records showed, snow had never fallen on the southern lowlands. The only exceptions were the summits and mid-slopes of the few mountain peaks in the Southern Autonomous Zone that reached several thousand meters, where snow could indeed fall and accumulate.
"Then I should probably give up on that. I'm not looking for it as an ornamental plant. Even if it bore fruit, it probably wouldn't produce enough to actually drink coffee."
"Drink coffee? What do you mean?"
My offhand remark drew reactions from Hana and the others, including Grandpa. And sensing from the content that it was food-related, Amour showed the biggest reaction of the five of us.
In my previous life, I'd drunk coffee countless times, but I'd never gone as far as roasting the beans myself. At most, I'd ground them a few times in a coffee mill. So I tried to explain as clearly as I could based on my half-remembered, hearsay knowledge—but it apparently didn't come across very well, because I ended up having to demonstrate.
I used a frying pan as a substitute for roasting the beans, and a mallet wrapped in cloth as a substitute for a coffee mill. Ideally, the beans should be ground evenly, but without proper tools, there was nothing to be done. Instead, I separated them roughly with a strainer, which I figured was better than nothing.
The methods I'd actually done myself were drip coffee and cold brew, but cold brew took too long so I ruled it out this time. For drip coffee, I used a thin cloth as a substitute for drip paper—I wasn't sure if that was the right name, but it's what I'd always called it—and actually made some coffee...
"Blech!"
Everyone who tasted it cried out in unison. Incidentally, when the elder was about to drink the coffee, the guard stationed outside the room stepped in to taste it as a poison tester instead, so she was spared.
"Is it really supposed to be this bitter?"
Hana asked me while drinking some palate-cleansing tea, but I couldn't tell whether this was actually how coffee was supposed to taste in this world or whether I'd simply failed at making it. "I've only heard about it secondhand, so I'm not entirely sure myself," I answered. "But I've heard that coffee is inherently bitter."
"At the very least, this is how you're supposed to drink it... You can also dilute it with water, or mix in sugar and milk."
To be thorough, I tried diluting it with water and adding sugar and milk, but the bitterness still dominated—it was far from what you'd call delicious. Maybe I'd failed at the roasting stage. Given the time and the beans, I'd like to experiment further.
"With a taste like this, there's no need to force ourselves to drink coffee," the elder declared, and that single line became the final verdict of the day. However, the excess seeds that had previously been discarded could potentially become a commercial product—a new specialty of the south—so they planned to continue researching, albeit on a small scale.
The reason it would be on a small scale was twofold: the yield of seeds was limited, and they'd need to increase seedling production first to gauge future demand.
"Shall we have a meal soon?" the elder suggested, and the women who'd been in the kitchen began carrying in large platters of food one after another. In Nanao, each person had been served individual portions, but in ordinary households, the food was placed on large shared platters and everyone served themselves.
The dishes were simmered vegetables with chicken, miso-stewed dishes, and the like—flavors that strongly suggested a reincarnator from Japan had played a major role.
After the meal, guided by Hana and the others, we took a walk through the village—probably also serving as an introduction to the villagers—and departed before sundown. As we were leaving, the elder gave us medicinal herbs and food as farewell gifts. The herbs were to serve as an alibi for having come here to gather plants, and the food was offered because the village had no particular local specialties of its own. Well, we ate most of the food gifts before returning to Nanao—mostly courtesy of Amour and my own gluttonous duo—but the souvenir for Honorary Viscount Robo was gone. Or rather, everyone had completely forgotten about Honorary Viscount Robo's existence.